Cowley: Can’t Call Peavy Deal A Bad Trade

When the Chicago White Sox traded for former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, it was seen as a no brainer that would give the organization one of the most dominant pitchers in the league.

The White Sox sent Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell to San Deigo in exchange for Peavy. While Peavy has shown flashes of the guy he was in a Padres uniform, injuries have prevented him from reaching his potential.

But it’s still too early to call the deal a bad trade for the White Sox.

“I thought Clayton did a pretty good job for the Sox, I just don’t know if he was an American League pitcher for years to come,” Joe Cowley, of the Chicago Sun-Times, said on the Danny Mac Show. “This guy was put on the oven, had a chance to make it…and was failing. In the spotlight, in the bright lights of the South Side, he was failing. So it’s easy now to look and say ‘look what he did after they traded him, look how great this guy was.’ That’s great, that’s a beautiful situation for him…that doesn’t mean he was going to succeed in Chicago, it’s a different animal. National League and American League are not only different, but the markets are different. The lights aren’t as bright in some of the those cities, it’s a little easier to pitch when you can breathe.”

Last season, with San Diego, Richard went 14-9 with a 3.75 ERA in 201.2 innings pitched, he’s slated to be the Padres’ number-two starter this season.